Each day a different image or photograph is featured, with an
accompanying caption, which deals with various topics in Earth Science.

Ventura to Santa Barbara, CA

Ventura, California is one of this state's oldest cities. Officially known as San Buenaventura, it was established in 1782 with the founding of the Mission San Buenaventura. In this perspective view generated from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission elevation data overlain with Landsat visible data, the city can be seen occupying the shore of the Pacific Ocean and the nearby foothills in the lower left. Lake Casitas, a reservoir and popular recreation area, is the dark blue feature in the center of the image. Holding back the 313,000 megaliter (254,000 acre-feet) storage capacity of the reservoir and visible as a very bright feature foreground of the lake, is the Casitas Dam, a 102-meter (334-foot) earthfill dam. Further up the coast near the horizon is Santa Barbara beneath the Santa Ynez Mountains and 3985 foot La Cumbre Peak. For visualization purposes, topographic heights displayed in this image are exaggerated two times.